(indieWIRE/3.17.2000) — Controversy sells and with a number ofrecent releases, Lions Gate has found itself at the centerbrewing media scuffles. Last year, the company released KevinSmith’s “Dogma” when Disney found it too hot to handle and thecompany has recently battled the MPAA over the rating ofMary Harron‘s upcoming “American Psycho.”

Now, Lions Gate is at odds with the World Wrestling Federation(WWF) and its chief Vince McMahon over Barry Blaustein‘s newdocumentary, “Beyond the Mat.”

In newspaper ads, Lions Gate calls its doc, “The Movie Vince McMahonDoes Not Want You to See,” referencing WWF’s objections to advertisingfor the new movie. McMahon is arguably objecting as a result ofhis less-than-favorable depiction in the documentary.

The trouble began when WWF banned TV ads for the movie during itsprogramming on the USA Network and UPN. Lions Gate countered byputting the ads on the movie’s website (< AHREF="http://www.beyondthemat.com">http://www.beyondthemat.com)and adding the McMahon comment to its print and radio ads. WWF followedwith a letter, subsequently sent to indieWIRE by Lions Gate, which asksthat Lions Gate stop referencing WWF and McMahon in its marketingfor the movie.

“The WWF has gone to extreme measures to restrict our advertisingcampaign for this fine film, claiming that it competes with theirproduct,” stated Lions Gate’s Tom Ortenberg in a prepared statement.

In its letter, WWF asked Lions Gate to stop using images of WWFwrestlers in its ads and also asked the the distributor stopreferencing McMahon. “Failure to comply with these requests,” WWFindicated in the letter, “will request (sic) in our instituting legalaction.”

The film tracks essentially the lives and families of three men,WWF superstar Mick Foley (“Mankind“), aging wrestler Terry Funk andformer superstar Jack Roberts (“Jake the Snake“), with a sectionabout the controversial figure, McMahon.

In a press release this week, Lions Gate indicated that it isrejecting WWF’s “cease and desist” letter. In a prepared statement,Ortenberg said, “We have the contractual right to run the ads as theyare and will not be intimidated by WWF’s bully tactics, nor will wegive in to the WWF’s pressure to suppress this wonderful motionpicture.

>>SFIFF Opening with “Suicides” and Closing with “Hamlet”

(indieWIRE/3.17.2000) — The 43rd San Francisco International FilmFestival will open on April 20th with Sofia Coppola‘s “The VirginSuicides” and close on May 4th with Michael Almereyda‘s “Hamlet,”the festival confirmed yesterday.

San Francisco Film Society publicity director Hilary Hart told indieWIREyesterday that Abbas Kiarostami will receive the Festival’s Akira Kurosawa Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film Directing, while actress Winona Ryderwill receive the Peter J. Owens Award for acting. Also, animator FaithHubley will be honored with the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Awardfor, according to Hart, her career as a non-feature filmmaker.”

Commenting on the program in a prepared statement, programmingdirector Thomas Ethan Harris said, “This year’s program includes workfrom animators, narrative filmmakers and documentary shorts that trulyrepresents the spectrum and range of creativity in short filmmaking.”